The subject matter disclosed herein relates to asset management, and more particularly, to monitoring and managing health of an asset using a robotic system.
Various entities may own or maintain various types of assets as part of their operation. Such assets may include physical or mechanical devices or structures, which may in some instances, have electrical and/or chemical aspects as well. Such assets may be used or maintained for a variety of purposes and may be characterized as capital infrastructure, inventory, or by other nomenclature depending on the context. For example, assets may include distributed assets, such as a pipeline or an electrical grid, as well as individual or discrete assets, such as an airplane, a tower, or a vehicle. Assets may be subject to various types of defects (e.g., spontaneous mechanical defects, electrical defects as well as routine wear-and-tear) that may impact their operation. For example, over time, the asset may undergo corrosion or cracking due to weather or may exhibit deteriorating performance or efficiency due to the wear or failure of component parts.
Typically, one or more human inspectors may inspect, maintain, and repair the asset. For example, the inspector may locate corrosion on the asset and clean the corrosion from the asset. However, depending on the location, size, and/or complexity of the asset, having one or more human inspectors performing inspection of the asset may take away time for the inspectors to perform other tasks. Additionally, some inspection tasks may be dull, dirty, or may be otherwise unsuitable for a human to perform. For instance, some assets may have locations that may not be accessible to humans due to height, confined spaces, or the like. Further, inspections may be performed at times based on schedules resulting in either over-inspection or under-inspection. Accordingly, improved systems and techniques for managing the health of various types of assets are desirable.